As we go into another Māori Language Week, Don Brash manages to come out and say something so spectacularly offensive it makes you wonder if he’s actually lost his faculties or he’s just trying to be a gigantic dick because this is Trump level trolling…

…claiming the Haka is a war dance is grotesquely wrong.

It is a challenge, it is the respect of the challenge, it is deeply enshrined in honour and to misrepresent it as a war dance and to then suggest it glorifies domestic violence is insulting beyond belief because his insinuation is that Māori are a violent culture and hence all those social ills that plague them are kinda their fault.

To purposely misrepresent indigenous culture as an act of violence that glorifies other acts of violence is perhaps the worst thing Brash has ever done, which is really saying something because he’s just done so much that is damaging to race relations in this country.

Don Brash is in open conspiracy waters now, he’s days away from connecting fluoridation in the water as the reason for Māori crime rates and will shortly start arguing that chemtrails are the only solution.

If Don Brash & climate denying Leighton Smith had a baby, it would blame Māori for sea level rises.

brash is a banker. Lets not forget that. In fact, I’d suggest we keep that in the fore front of our minds.
His job, as a banker, is to create societal upheaval and while he and his banker friends RIP US OFF we scrap it out like brawling rats while hawks like him circle overhead.
Sorry for shouting BTW.
The other thing we must do our best to keep in the fore front of our minds is that he and his banker buddies have been high-end grifting the fuck out of our economy for generations.
That’s why; super rich country with a tiny population=no money.
His psychologically infectious, logical fallacies shouldn’t fool anyone any longer.
The reality is, he should be in prison. Not, having good people with sound minds debate the dirty little bankster as though his opinions actually have merit.
Maori and non Maori alike should go find him and pop in the boob for a wee lag with the Bro’s he put there after he and his bankster fuck-buddies ruined their lives.

This is where NZ should head to. We used to call it ‘taxation’ but now, I guess we must at least allude to the monster who lives under your heavily mortgaged bed a ‘ bank’.

Perhaps Maori could go to L.A. and see how that might work out for them? Get something useful out of the USA for a change?

Or we could send a Labour Party delegation over? They could wander about in small circles staring at the ground while wringing their hankies as they mumble kumbaya like the gutless fucking idiots do here.

Brash has just committed another offence under the race relations act, surprise surprise, seems hell do anything for media attention, what a fuktard says shouldn’t be news, it should be evidence in his trail.

Radio Live and News Talk ZB are stations for demented old people to receive their daily programming. These stations dissolve the frontal lobes. They are a public health hazard and should be required to regularly broadcast a warning that; listening to these stations can cause extreme mental illness.

Martyn, you deny Brash’s claim that the Haka is closely related to domestic violence but you present no evidence to back up your assertions. I am left wing but share his view that the deification of Maori culture is making NZ a very violent nation. I suspect that there is plenty of evidence to support that view if you look in the right places.

Dear Shona and Z: You seem to doubt that my views are mostly left wing. While living in Australia I stood five times as a candidate for the Australian Democrats, at the time the most left wing major party in Australia; For a while in Dunedin I had a fortnightly radio program that was clearly left wing: I write left wing letters to the Otago Daily times, which nearly always prints them (which is more than I can say for TDB). Will that do?
You insist that the cause of violence is alcohol, poverty, and attitude. That is wrong, they are simply contributory factors. It is possible to be poor and not beat up the wife. The haka simply makes the violence more acceptable.
And on the subject of violence, I suggest you read your replies slowly and calmly and tell me these are not the outpouring of a violent mind.

condescending ignorant prick. You know nothing of Maori culture or NZ History. Yes of course I am violent I am an educated woman of above average intelligence so of course I have to be denigrated derided and demeaned by third rate males of mediocre achievements.

those who can express the gamuts of emotion in themselves and transmute them through dance and art and culture and mana and symbolism into meaning and art form are less likely to be bottled up with helpless unexpressed emotions

…and hence less likely to be overwhelmed by emotions of helplessness and anger and frustration…and lash out with frustration in acts of domestic violence

Where is the evidence you are left-wing Dennis Dorney? Your comments read like an ignoramus/bigoted view of Maori culture and practices coming from someone who is left-out of any clear understanding of what constitutes evidence. It’s up to Brash to prove a causal link between the haka & domestic violence. Would anyone be daft enough to do the research for Brash? Let him wallow in his own stupidity.

The first hakas were created and performed by different Māori tribes as a war dance. It is an ancestral war cry. It was performed on the battlefields for two reasons. Firstly, it was done to scare their opponents; the warriors would use aggressive facial expressions such as bulging eyes and poking of their tounges. They would grunt and cry in an intimidating way, while beating and waving their weapons. The second reason they did this was for their own morale; they believed that they were calling upon the god of war to help them win the battle. They were heavily choreographed and performed in time. It gave them courage and strength. This type of haka is called a peruperu haka.

OVERTIME, IT TOOK ON NEW MEANINGS

Overtime, the haka evolved and it came to be used for more than just battles. It became a way for communities to come together and it was a symbol for community and strength. This type of haka is called a ngeri haka. Unlike the peruperu, the ngeri does not use weapons. Their purpose is different; they are performed to simply move the performs and viewers physcologically, rather than to cause fear. This different goal is reflected in the way that they are performed. Their movements are more free, giving each participant the freedom to express themselves in their own movements. Both males and females can perform a haka; there are special ones that have been created just for women.

In New Zealand, you will find that the haka is performed for a lot of different reasons. Nationally, it is used at important events; an example of this is rugby games where it is performed at the start of each match. It is also performed for personal reasons too. It is performed at weddings, funerals, local events and more. It is also performed for special guests as a sign of respect. It is not exclusive to Māori; anyone is welcome to perform a haka, giving that it is performed with all the seriousness and respect that is deserves and that the performers are aware of what they are doing and what it means.

HISTORY OF THE KA MATE HAKA

“Ka Mate” is a haka that has been the haka most performed by the All Blacks when they play against international teams. It is a ceremonial haka, and it was written by Te Rauparaha. It is a celebration of life triumphing over death. Te Rauparaha created the haka after he narrowly escaped death at the hands of enemy tribes from Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato by hiding in a dark food storage pit. When he came out of it, he was greeted by light and a friendly tribe chief. The famous first line, “Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora!” Translates into “I might die! I might die! I may live! I may live!” And the last line, “Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra! Hi!” Translates into “A step upward, another… the Sun shines! Rise!”

And of course, the Haka is synonymous with New Zealand…”

( Don Brash is a literalist banker , an elderly Pakeha man out of time and place…the Haka is symbolic of mana and power and respect and celebration…not domestic violence)

And this man was once the leader of one of New Zealand’s largest political parties?
This man’s vacuity and cultural ignorance defies belief.
A classic example of a person so engulfed in his own world of blissful ignorance and perceived cultural superiority that he simply cannot think beyond it.
I certainly don’t know everything about the haka but I certainly know that it is not simply a war dance and it involves a great of spirituality, honour and prestige – both for those participating and observing.
How lucky we were in New Zealand to be spared the embarrassment of having this cultural philistine being our PM.
I am waiting for members of the current National Party to disassociate themselves from his half-arsed musings, silence so far.